HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - must read article --should her2+ breast cancer be divided into ER+ vs ER- subtypes

bejuce · 02-05-2013, 10:29 AM

I agree with Karen. I just read the article and it seemed to confirm what I had heard before: ER+ tends to recur more to the bones, ER- tends to recur more to soft tissues, ER+ can recur several years out and ER- tends to recur within 3-5 years.

I think what is clear is that breast cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease with many different genetic characteristics that vary from person to person. Even those of us who are ER+/HER-2+ have different percentages of ER+ that may influence the tumor biology.

What is great about this article is that the medical community is moving towards a greater degree of individualized approaches based on each tumor genetic characteristics. I can't wait to see the day when treatment becomes highly personalized for each one, the day we'll be able to detect cancer from a simple blood test, and the day we'll be able to characterize the genetic signature of each tumor and do a pattern matching to available drugs to determine which ones will be most effective. Some of my wishes seem very close to be granted, others may take many years (but I sure hope they are granted fast!)

02-05-2013, 10:29 AM	#11
bejuce Senior Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 510	Re: must read article --should her2+ breast cancer be divided into ER+ vs ER- subtype I agree with Karen. I just read the article and it seemed to confirm what I had heard before: ER+ tends to recur more to the bones, ER- tends to recur more to soft tissues, ER+ can recur several years out and ER- tends to recur within 3-5 years. I think what is clear is that breast cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease with many different genetic characteristics that vary from person to person. Even those of us who are ER+/HER-2+ have different percentages of ER+ that may influence the tumor biology. What is great about this article is that the medical community is moving towards a greater degree of individualized approaches based on each tumor genetic characteristics. I can't wait to see the day when treatment becomes highly personalized for each one, the day we'll be able to detect cancer from a simple blood test, and the day we'll be able to characterize the genetic signature of each tumor and do a pattern matching to available drugs to determine which ones will be most effective. Some of my wishes seem very close to be granted, others may take many years (but I sure hope they are granted fast!) __________________ ER+ (30%)/PR-/HER-2+, stage 3 Diagnosed on 02/18/09 at 38 with a huge 12x10 cm tumor, after a 6 month delay. Told I was too young and had no risk factors. Found swollen node during breastfeeding. March-August 09: neo-adjuvant chemo, part of a trial at Stanford (4 DD A/C, 4 Taxotere with daily Tykerb), loading dose of Herceptin 08/12/09 - bye bye boobies (bilateral mastectomy) 08/24/09 - path report shows 100 % success in breast tissue (no cancer there, yay!), 98 % success in lymphatic invasion, and even though 11/13 nodes were still positive, > 95 % of the tumor in them was killed. Hoping for the best! September-October 09: rads with daily Xeloda 02/25/10 - Cholecystectomy 05/27/10 - Bone scan clear 06/14/10 - CT scan clear, ovarian cyst found 07/27/10 - Done with Herceptin! 02/15/11 - MVA-BN HER-2 vaccine trial 03/15/11 - First CA 15-3: 12.7 and normal, yay! 10/01/11 - Bone scan and CT scan clear, fatty liver found now on Tamoxifen and Aspirin